


spilled coffee [under construction PLS DONT READ RN ITS SHITTY]

by pynch



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, adam is extremely sleep deprived, ronan tries to act like an asshole (like always) but ... cmon??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 15:53:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5791552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pynch/pseuds/pynch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adam is in serious need of some sleep, and Gansey, apparently, is in need of another coffee.</p>
            </blockquote>





	spilled coffee [under construction PLS DONT READ RN ITS SHITTY]

**Author's Note:**

> based on [this](http://dailyau.tumblr.com/post/134980838582/ive-been-awake-for-three-day-and-i-spent-my)

Three days. 

That’s how long Adam Parrish had gone without any sleep. Every time he tried to lie down and close his eyes, it seemed as if his alarm clock went off seconds later. If he wasn’t leaving for school (college was more difficult than he expected), he was leaving for work, and if he wasn’t leaving for either, he was cramming for an upcoming test. Coffee was the only reason he hadn't passed out, but since he recently ran out of it, his future wasn’t looking too good. Not that it was looking too good before, but it definitely wasn’t now. Once the coffee he gulped down hours ago ran up, he knew he was going to fall asleep wherever he was. It happened before—in class—and he wasn’t looking forward to it happening again.

So that’s how he found himself on his knees, grabbing the cereal box he kept under his bed with loose change inside. There wasn’t much, but he managed to collect enough quarters over the years to count out five dollars. Since he didn’t have morning classes that day, he spent the next couple hours studying, then he left earlier than usual in order to stop at the coffee shop around the corner. 

It was all planned out in his head: he was going to drive to the café, order the strongest coffee they have to offer, then arrive at school with enough time to look over his notes.

Of course, nothing ever happened the way Adam wanted it to. Not only did it take nearly twenty minutes for him to find his keys, but once he arrived at the café, the line was backed up to the door. By the time he had his coffee—which wasn't as strong as Adam hoped—and was back inside his car, another twenty minutes had passed. Now he would be arriving to class either extremely late or just in time, and considering how lousy his day already was, he didn't suspect the latter possibility. 

Once he pulled into the student parking lot and saw that it was mostly abandoned, he cursed aloud. After struggling with his keys, he grabbed his bag and pushed open the door to his shitty car. It wasn't necessarily cold outside, but it was chilly enough for Adam to wish he brought a jacket with him. Sighing, he leaned forward inside the car to grab his coffee. It was still hot and completely filled, so Adam was careful as he shut the door with his hip and adjusted the strap to his bag. He had less than five minutes to make it inside and into his classroom. 

_No more obstacles,_ he thought to himself. _Just get to the doors and you'll make it._

The moment he stepped forward, the strap around his shoulder snapped, spilling the contents of what was inside the bag. Pencils rolled under cars, and the paper that was in his folder got swept up in the wind. Adam stupidly tried saving it, which resulted in his coffee spilling all over his shirt and pants. It immediately scorched his skin, and if Adam wasn't in complete shock, he would have yelled in pain. 

Instead, he stood there for a moment, then threw his head back and started laughing. He knew he would seem like a madman to anyone watching, but he didn't care. He was beyond caring. All he had wanted was to arrive at school early enough to read over his notes, but apparently that was asking for too much. He dropped his head into his hands, and after a moment, he realized he was no longer laughing, that tears were streaming down his face and sobs were coming out of his mouth instead of untamable laughter. If anyone was around to see, Adam would have felt ashamed. He taught himself long ago that tears didn't get him anything. They didn't get him an unbruised body or more time, and they wouldn't get him the sleep he needed now.

"Spilled coffee isn't something to cry about." 

\- 

Three days. 

That's how long Ronan Lynch had been playing hooky. It wasn't like he cared about being kicked out of college, or like he wanted to be there in the first place. The only reason he was there was because of his stupid older brother, Declan. If it wasn't for him, Ronan would devote all his time to the Barns. He would spend every waking moment tending to the animals. Of course, Ronan didn't want to spend the rest of his life as a farmer, but he didn't want to do anything that required college either. In his eyes, college was a waste of four perfectly good years. 

His best friend, Richard Gansey Campbell the Third, begged to be shortened to just Gansey, made college more bearable. If it wasn't for him, Ronan knew he would have dropped out and dealt with Declan's wrath. Not that he still couldn't do that, but the idea wasn't as pleasing as it once was. Not after Gansey denied several Ivy Leagues in order to school with Ronan. He never asked Gansey to do such a thing, he did it voluntarily, but Ronan now felt obliged to try. 

"Come on," Ronan said, eyeing Gansey from the passenger seat. "Do you really need coffee? The line is longer than your second fucking toe." 

Gansey heaved a sigh as he carefully opened his door. He always treated his shitty car like a person, despite how many times it's failed on him. Countless times, Ronan had to dig around for his keys and go pick up Gansey's stranded ass on the side of the road. More often than not, the Pig's hood was smoking. It didn't seem to matter, though, how many times Gansey nearly died because of the car—he was never driving another. He had made that perfectly clear. 

"It won't take that long," he assured, stepping onto the pavement. "And it's not an uncommon thing for a person's second toe to be larger than their first one." 

Ronan watched Gansey enter the overly crowded café with a scowl. Despite his assurance, it took almost half an hour for Gansey to return. He had one large coffee in his hand, and as soon as he was in the car, he offered it to Ronan. 

He pushed the coffee back towards him. "I don't like your Starbucks shit." 

Twenty minutes later, they were pulling into the student parking lot. There wasn't anyone else around, just several cars, and Ronan heard Gansey unbuckle his seat belt. "Take this," he told Ronan, thrusting the coffee at him. "I'll be right back. I have to go to our dorm to get my book."

Gansey didn't wait on a reply, already half way out of the car when Ronan grunted. The coffee was still hot, and Ronan pulled random receipts and napkins out of the cup holder so he wouldn't burn his hand. Even though he despised all phones, he pulled his out of his back pocket. His earplugs were already wrapped around the device, and after he had them untangled, he scrolled through his phone until he found a song he wanted. 

While the music played, Ronan pressed his cheek against the cool glass of the window and looked around. They were almost ten minutes away—on foot—from the building they were supposed to be at. He knew all Gansey had to do was give a plausible excuse and he would be alright, but it was harder for Ronan to get by with tardiness since he hardly ever showed up to class. He wasn't, by any means, a great student, but he never professed to be, either. That was more Gansey's style than his. 

A couple seconds later, Ronan watched a car pull up from the corner of his eye. When the person exited, he turned his head to watch. It was a boy who looked to be around Ronan's age with messy, sandy-like hair. He was tall and skinny, but not lanky. It looked like he hadn't been to sleep for years. 

Ronan snorted quietly. Most students who went to college beat themselves up over pointless exams and pointless homework assignments. Gansey often told him he needed to get a better view on education, but Ronan disagreed. He didn't mind learning, but he did mind wasting his life away with learning subjects he couldn't care less about. 

He had started to look away when he saw the boy's strap break. Everything that had been in his bag was now scattered around the parking lot. Ronan watched as the boy lunged for an escaped paper, only to have the coffee in his hand spill all over him. For a moment, the only thing the boy did was stare at the cup. 

The next thing that happened startled Ronan. Instead of grabbing his books and papers from the ground, the boy tipped his head back and laughed. A second later he started crying. He buried his head in his hands, and Ronan could see his body tremble from where he sat in the Pig. Feeling his chest tighten, Ronan averted his gaze, wishing Gansey would hurry. His eyes rested on the coffee that Gansey had barely drank.

With an annoyed huff, Ronan all but kicked open the passenger side door and stepped out, coffee in one hand. He tentatively made his way to the still-sobbing boy, kicking a highlighter on his way. It rolled back to the ripped bag on the ground. 

"Spilled coffee isn't something to cry about," Ronan said. It was meant to be a joke, an ice-breaker, but it didn't sound that way. His voice sounded too harsh and rough even to his own ears. 

Ronan watched as the boy's entire body tensed. For a split second, Ronan thought he was going to start crying again, but instead, the boy dropped his hands and hastily rubbed his eyes. He didn't say or do anything—not even looking up at Ronan—besides drop to his knees and gather his things. The way he slammed his notebooks on top of each other gave Ronan the impression that he was pissed off, or maybe embarrassed. 

After scrubbing his hand over his head, Ronan dropped to his knees as well and started helping. The boy paused long enough to glance up at him, and Ronan felt his heart stop the moment they made eye contact. Like Ronan, he had blue eyes, but unlike Ronan, his shade of blue resembled the day sky, whereas Ronan's resembled the ocean. There were countless freckles around his nose and on his cheeks, and Ronan couldn't help but _want_ to count them. 

"I don't need your help," the boy said, his voice hoarse. "And I wasn't crying over spilled coffee." He didn't elaborate, and Ronan didn't ask him to. Once the last notebook was stuffed inside the worn out bag, Ronan stood up. 

"You're supposed to say thank you to random acts of kindness," Ronan said flatly. He held out the coffee. "Here's your next chance." 

The boy stared at the coffee in confusion, his bushy eyebrows pulling together. "I can't take your co--." 

"If you don't take it, it's going in the trash." Which wasn't a lie. Gansey ordered coffee with the intentions of drinking it, but never actually did. He always forgot to drink it. It was left to get cold and then be thrown away the next day. "It tastes worse than shit, so you probably shouldn't thank me on second thought." 

That earned a small smile from the boy. Hesitantly, he reached out and took the warm coffee from Ronan's hand. He glanced down at it for a moment, his bottom lip pulled between his teeth. Ronan stared at teeth marks left behind. 

"Thank you," he said, glancing up at Ronan. He was silent, then, "Uh, I'm Adam, by the way. Seems like the best thing to do; introduce myself to the stranger who witnessed me crying and then offered me his coffee to get me to shut up." 

Ronan, despite himself, smiled. He ran his thumb across his mouth until it disappeared, then shook his head. "And I'm guessing you have a fucking class to get to. Mental breakdowns don't usually happen to students who arrive on time." He watched as Adam's ears turned red, then as his light blue eyes narrowed in annoyance. 

"Ronan," a voice behind them called. He knew without turning that it was Gansey. "What are you doing?" 

In reply, Ronan shrugged, barely turning his head to acknowledge him. "Preventing one less student from going to hell."

Adam huffed quietly, but he looked amused. He glanced over his shoulder at Gansey, then started backing away. He watched Ronan with uncertainty, looking as if he wanted to say something, but the sound of a bell ringing interrupted him. With one last curse, he said, "Thank you again for the coffee, Ronan" and turned away. 

Ronan watched him jog across the field and disappear around the corner. He was surprised, and only a little disappointed, that the bag around his shoulder didn't fall apart again. Spending another few minutes helping him a second time wouldn't kill Ronan. 

Gansey, however, interrupted his thoughts with a wary, "What coffee?"

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are encouraged. :) 
> 
> come talk to me [here](http://booronan.tumblr.com)


End file.
